To strengthen retention, use targeted pay strategies over broad raises | 9.19.25
FEATURED INSIGHT »
From the desk of Diana Scott, US Human Capital Center Leader
Salary budgets are expected to hold steady at 3.4–3.5% into 2026—lower than pandemic-era peaks but still above the pre-2020 norm of 3%. What’s shifting is how those dollars are being used. Cost-of-living adjustments are flattening, while performance-based increases, promotions, and equity adjustments are carrying more weight.
For HR leaders, this is a call to act: instead of spreading limited dollars thinly across all employees, concentrate resources on high performers, critical skills, and equity-sensitive groups. By prioritizing targeted pay strategies over broad COLA-style increases, HR can sustain engagement, support retention in hot-skill areas, and deliver outsized value from stable salary budgets—even amid economic uncertainty.
To learn more about how budgets are changing in 2026, see US Salary Increase Budgets 2025-2026: Rising Pay Endures Despite Uncertainty.
REPORT »
Reinventing the US Federal Civil Service
Over the past several months, deep disruptions in the federal government have generated uncertainty among the hundreds of thousands of professionals who work there, as well as among the millions of Americans who depend on the systems and services that government agencies provide. This article offers insights from former senior federal human capital leaders on how to move beyond recent disruptions to fundamentally reshape the US federal civil service into a more agile, effective, and trusted institution.
HUMAN CAPITAL WATCH WEBCAST »
Does AI Coaching Work?
October 14 | 11 AM ET
Earn HRCI, SHRM & CPE credits
As AI tools become more embedded in the workplace, their role in coaching is expanding—but not without controversy. This webcast explores the current and near future capabilities of AI as a coach and how organizations are blending AI tools with human coaching to extend the benefits of coaching to all levels. Participants will learn to distinguish hype from reality, understand where AI adds the most value, and identify the boundaries where human coaches remain essential (at least for now).
Learn more about becoming a Human Capital Center Member today.